Avengers Unlimited
by Clownwithachainsaw
Summary: In a time when common law is overwhelmed by supervillains, a small team of heroes will band together and avenge the world's injustices. Read on True Believers, as the Avengers save the world from injustice.
1. Assembled prt 1

An armored car idled in the traffic of New York. The driver was chatting with his partner. "You know I met Iron Man once." He said proudly.

"No kidding?"

"Yeah. There was this huge electric thing, I think his name was Zzax? Anyway, this thing tries to hit the ATM on my beat, Iron Man comes in and stops him. He gave me a signed photograph. My son's never been so happy."

The light turned red and the van moved forward. Suddenly, a red sports car slammed into them. The two cars slowly slid to a halt in the middle of the crossing. "What just happened?" the driver asked.

"Somebody ran into us." His partner said. He opened the window. He saw the young girl bleeding behind the wheel of the sports car. "We have to go… help… her…" he suddenly began twitching.

The driver kicked open the door. "Somebody call an ambulance!" He yelled. "My friend's having a heart attack!"

"Now."

From the shadow confines of his secret lair, a small man in a green suit watched from multiple computer screens. Each one showed a different angle of the street, from the cameras in the surrounding areas. One of them showed an ambulance drawing near.

Three men jumped out. "What happened?" One of the nurses asked.

"The girl in the car ran into me." The driver of the armored van told him. Everybody watched as the scene unfolded. Only one person, in a secret location, saw the fourth nurse come out of the ambulance with a blowtorch and start cutting into the side of the truck.

"You have exactly one minute." He said. "I hope you're as good as you told me Montana."

"Better." The man in the nurses outfit said, slicing open the truck. He went and began hauling large metal boxes out of the van and into a secret compartment installed on the side of the ambulance.

"You have ten seconds left."

Montana fixed the wall of the van back into place, then rushed over to help the other 'nurses' put the writhing cop into the ambulance. They closed the doors and drove away. Only then did the driver of the armored truck see the outline of a hole in his van. "What?"

The driver of the ambulance took off his fake mustache. "That was brilliant." He said. "But how did you know the girl would crash into the truck? And how did you know that one of them would have a heart attack?"

The Thinker stood, and moved away from the screens. The remainder of the room was filled hundreds of bottles of water and six chalkboards. Each one was filled with a mathematical equation, and each one had a title. Iron Man. Hulk. Thor. Captain America. Ant-man. Wasp.

"It's my business to know the future." He said with a smile. "You know the way back to H.Q. Enforcers. Although, you'd do well to avoid route seven. That will be all." The Mad Thinker unhooked his earpiece and smiled at the chalkboards.

**Avengers Unlimited: Assembled prt.1**

A boat moved in to Manhattan bay. A well dressed man in a suit smiled as he looked out over the city. "First time in New York?" A balding old man with a bright smile asked.

"Yes." The well dressed man said. "My father decided I should go out and see the world. I heard that Iron Man and Thor can be seen here."

"Yeah. They're real Marvels those two." The old man's smile broadened and a twinkle glinted in his eye. He held out his hand. "I'm Stan."

The taller man shook it. "T'Challa."

"Pleased to meet you T'Challa." Stan said. "You want a friendly tour of the city?"

"I've always been better on my own." T'Challa said. "Thank you for the offer though."

Later as T'Challa walked through New York, he stopped as he saw a crowd gathering at the window of a television store. He moved to the back of the crowd and watched with them. "Today, a robbery in the chinese district was foiled by Thor." Reporter Sam McGee said. "The so called Wrecking Crew are currently being transported to an experimental prison for supervillains. But one person's reaction was not like the others."

The camera changed from McGee, to an old man at a press conference. The caption underneath read 'General Thaddeus Ross'. "These so called superheroes are not making the world a better place." He said. "Far from it. Sure, when they stumble across these supervillains they do what any decent citizen would do if they had the power. But do they actively try to prevent these crimes from happening? So far as I can see, the tally is two superheroes, and more supervillains showing up every week. They still haven't even caught America's most wanted, the Hulk."

Cue a blurry photo from a shaky camera of some sort of green giant roaring and throwing cars, then back to McGee.

"Faced with the General's rebuke, Thor and Iron Man have committed to capturing the Hulk, and putting the minds of thousands of Americans to rest."

T'Challa thought about this news, and shot a hand out. It caught the wrist of a man, and twisted it. A crack rang out and the man yelled, dropping a pair of diamonds in T'Challa's waiting hands. T'Challa reached into the man's pocket and pulled out several wallets, before tossing the man away. He looked through the photographs and began stalking through the crowds to return them to their owners.

* * *

"It is simple math." The Thinker said. "The future is just a set of constants, (gravity, physics, etc…) and a set of variables, basically any and all people in the equation. Humans are the same thing, constants ruled by the variables of their life. Then all you have to do is factor in chaos theory, lightning strikes, rolls of the dice, and if you can predict that, well, the future just writes itself."

He opened a box and pulled a container of paste out of it. He opened the other and pulled out a robotic exoskeleton. "What are you gonna use those for boss?" Ox asked.

"I have seen the future Ox." The Thinker said. "And unless we seize it while we have the chance, I fear it will be lost to us." He looked at them all. "You are my enforcers. You have seen what I have done. What I can do. Ox, Montana, Fancy Dan, Big man, will you do exactly as I tell you?"

"What's the score?" Big Man asked.

The Thinker smiled. "The country itself. If you do what I tell you, we will be living in the white house in exactly three days, and nobody will be able to stop us."

The Enforcers exchanged grins. He had them convinced. Of course he did; he could see the future after all. And it was bright. He pointed. "Fancy Dan, Montana, Big Man, you are scheduled to leave on a flight to Greenland in forty five minutes. Your passports will be delivered to you by the driver of the taxi you will take. He will pick you up in one minute and twenty seconds outside. You will receive further instructions when you reach your hotel. Go."

They all turned and left. Big Man turned for one last question. "Which hotel are we going to?"

The Thinker smiled. "I don't have to decide for you. I already know, right down to the room number, where you'll choose to stay. Now go."

The Big Man left. The Thinker turned to Ox. "Help me with this exoskeleton Ox." He said. Ox nodded and hefted the heavy droid.

* * *

Tony Stark stepped up to the podium. This was where he felt the most comfortable; in front of a national audience in his designer clothes. "Today, Stark Industries is happy to announce a new frontier in underwater exploration. I give you; the Stark Submersable 2000!" A large red and gold submarine emerged from the deep behind him. The glass walls he'd put up beforehand protected both him and the news agents from the spray of water.

"We're sending probes into space, but we don't even know the full extent of what's under our own water. With the help of renowned oceanographer Professor Walter Newell…" Professor Newell stood and the audience clapped. "The S.S. Millennial will bring to light new scientific discoveries that will make our future a better place."

The audience clapped their appreciation. "Any questions?" Stark asked. He pointed to one reporter.

"Where's your bodyguard, Iron Man?" She asked. "If this is as important as you say, shouldn't he be here?"

Stark sighed. "No comment. Any questions about the S.S. Millennial?"

"You speculate that this will bring about important scientific discoveries." A reporter said. "How?"

"Well, that's a good question." Stark said. "Professor Wendell speculates that learning how fish do the things they do can be adjusted to our technology for the betterment of mankind. For example, one of the principles used in my arc reactor design was inspired by a shark's ability to sense bioelectricity." The S.S. Millennial began sinking back into the water. "The equipment on board the S.S. Millennial is geared towards scientific advance based off of underwater principles. In addition to that, it is also suited for really deep water exploration. Deeper than we've ever gone before. We could discover new plants or minerals or... Yes?" He pointed at another reporter.

"Um… where is it going?"

Stark raised an eyebrow and turned around. The S.S. Millennial was rapidly growing smaller, leaving the harbor and sinking into the waves. "It's not supposed to do that." He turned to his secretary Pepper Potts. "Pepper, why is my submarine doing that?"

"I don't know sir." She said, a phone to her ear. "I'm trying to raise the Captain, but he's not responding."

Stark frowned then turned back to the crowd. "Excuse me for a moment. If you have any more questions I'm sure professor Wendell will be able to answer them." The professor looked shocked as Tony Stark rushed off the stage. He nervously walked up to the podium.

"Um… uh… so… any questions?"

* * *

The Big Man like the hat he stole from the captain. "How you doing Fancy Dan?"

"Looks like the coast is clear." He said, piloting the submarine. "Unless Iron Man comes after us for stealing Stark stuff, we should be good to go."

"Alright." He pressed a button on his headset. "Montoya? You good?"

Montana sat in a side pod to the submarine, which housed a set of robotic arms and a laser. "I think I can work this thing just fine." He said. "It's kind of like that drill in the Mexico job." Fancy Dan laughed at the memory.

"Alright." Big Man opened up the communications portion of the submarine. "I should be able to raise the Mr. Thinker in about…"

"Four seconds exactly." The voice said from the intercom. "Well done Big Man. You're heading towards the coordinates I sent you?"

"Full speed ahead Mr. Thinker." Big Man said.

"Excellent. You will have ten minutes to reach those coordinates and procure the package before Iron Man reaches you."

"Alright." He turned to Fancy Dan. "Fancy, can we go a bit faster than full speed ahead?"

* * *

Thor walked through the gardens of Asgard. The Warriors Three followed him. "I just do not understand." Volstagg said. "There are frost giants aplenty here in Asgard. Why do you go to Midgard so often?"

"Believe me friends." Thor said. "There is combat and chances for glory aplenty in midgard too. And a refreshing change it is from Loki, or giants, or the world serpent."

"Oh let Thor play with his mortals." Vandral said, plucking an apple from a tree. "It's not your fault, Volstagg, if he has grown too old to swing his hammer at a real foe."

Thor paused. "I think you're just afrightened that while I'm gone, you'll have to defend thine self with that toothpick Fandral." Volstagg toppled over in laughter as Fandral's mouth opened and shut looking for a response.

Hogun the grim even let out a snort. "Thor." He said. "Tell us truly, what is thine purpose to midgard?"

"Truthfully?" Thor asked. "It is not as weak a realm as it was when last we visited. There is a hero there that might give even Loki pause, and villains who will stop at nothing to destroy the world around them. They are like children, and I take pleasure in defending them until they grow enough to defend themselves."

Volstagg leaned over him. "You truly believe one day mere mortals could equal Asgardians?"

"Perhaps." Thor said. "But I must go now friends." He swung his hammer and flew to the Bifrost bridge.

Hogun shook his head as he watched him go. "Well, at least we have all the giants to ourselves." Fandral said. "Come Hogun, Volstagg. We might just beat his record!"

* * *

"You should be on it now."

Big Man checked the charts. "Yeah, we're here. But all I see is an Iceburg."

"Move to the other side. There is an object frozen into the ice. Once Montana sees it, have him start drilling."

"Alright." He nodded to Fancy Dan, who steered the sub into position.

"Is that… it can't be…"

"What is it?" Big Man looked out the view screen and gasped. There, frozen into the ice, was a man in a red white and blue costume.

"Pull it in Montana."

Montana started up the laser drill. The ice began to melt, and a large hole was carved out of the iceburg. The two robotic hands reached out and grabbed the block of ice, pulling it out of the iceburg and shifting it into the cargo bay.

"You have two minutes left." The Thinker said. "Go."

The Enforcers move to the cargo bay. Montana and Big Man hauled the block of ice onto the the smaller exploration sub and went in themselves. The bay began to fill up with water, and the three of them launched away.

In the sub's bridge, the lights on the control board lit up. Calculations began running on the screen and it surfaced.

"There you are!" Iron Man flew at the sub. "Alright, whoever's inside there, come on out with your hands where I can see them. I understand that, having decided to steal something from Stark Industries you're probably brain-dead, but if you could try to see reason before I open a can of hurt on you, it would save us all a lot of time and effort."

The laser drill on the side of the submarine pointed up and fired. "Didn't think so." Iron Man said, dodging the drill.

"Ho!" Suddenly, a hammer flew down and smashed the drilling pod.

"Thor?" Iron Man asked. "what are you doing here?"

"I just came from Asgard by way of the Bifrost bridge, and saw a fellow warrior in need of assistance." Thor said. His hammer flew back to his hand. "Now, have at thee villains!" He flew at the sub.

"No Thor! Wait!" Tony flew down trying to stop him. Thor landed on the sub and ran his hammer into it.

"Thor!" Tony landed next to him. "Stop that! The bad guys are inside the sub."

"Aye." Thor said. "And so I shall crack it open like an egg."

"No Thor! The sub is state of the art! The bad guys are stealing it. We don't want to return it damaged."

"Then how do you propose we reach the villains without harming this machine?" Thor asked.

"We use, the hatch." Iron Man said, opening the hatch in the hull. In the bridge, the 'electrify hull' button suddenly pressed itself. Iron Man yelled and flew backwards, his armor smoking.

"Friend Iron Man!" Thor yelled. He turned to the hatch. "Alright you villains, try your mettle against a warrior of Asgard!" Thor tore open the hull and jumped into the sub.

Iron Man stood up in a daze. "Uh… what happened?" He heard Thor crashing around beneath him. "Thor? No! No no no no no stop!" He flew down into the sub after him. Lights were flashing red and the claxon was sounding. Tony knew what that meant. He caught up to Thor. "Thor you've damaged the power grid!"

"What?" Thor asked.

"The whole submarine is going to explode! Get out of here!" He flew down the corridors, and found the captain knocked unconscious in the control room. He grabbed him and rocketed out just as the S.S. Millennial exploded.

"Thor!" Iron Man yelled.

"Thor emerged from the smoking wreckage. "I found no sign of any villains among the wreckage."

"Yeah, that's what tends to happen when you blow up a submarine with them inside it." Iron Man said. "Come on. Let's get the Captain to a hospital, maybe he can tell us something about the thieves."

* * *

Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. walked into the hospital. His long coat billowed around behind him, as he pushed open a couple of doors. "You two are hard to get a hold of." He told Iron Man and Thor.

"Well yeah, the whole secret identity thing and all." Iron Man shrugged.

"Aye, sorry friend. Asgard has poor phone reception." Thor leaned in to Iron Man and whispered. "Who is he?"

"Dunno." Iron Man said. "Must be one of our fans. The price of being a hero."

"Actually, my name is Nick Fury." Nick took out his badge. "I'm the director of a new branch of world defense called S.H.I.E.L.D. My job is to look after all of the supervillains the two of you don't catch."

"Oh, yeah." Iron Man turned to Thor. "He's the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. He catches the supervillains we don't."

"You two said you wanted to do your part to catch the Hulk." Nick Fury said. "General Ross got an anonymous tip that the Hulk was in Stamford. He's there engaging him now. If you want to help, now's your chance."

"What, now?" Thor asked.

"Oh I'm sorry, were you busy with some other dangerous force of nature?" Fury asked sarcastically. "The Hulk is currently America's most wanted. I could have left you uninformed; this is a job for trained professionals. But you two heroes wanted in, and I'm giving you the courtesy of a heads up."

"Alright, we're on it." Iron Man said.

Fury watched them leave. "I also wanted to ask you two whether you wanted to join S.H.I.E.L.D. You could be a real asset to the world with some organization. In time, I plan on putting together a team of superheroes. You'd do more good than you're doing now."

"Thor follows no mortal." Thor began walking. "Come friend Iron Man. Let us meet this troll in battle."

"Yeah, sorry Fury, but I'm going to go with Thor on this one." Iron Man said. "Besides, I already have a job, and it probably pays better."

They left to meet the Hulk.

* * *

Big Man, Montana, and Fancy Dan surfaced in the middle of the ocean. "I can't raise the Thinker on the radio." Big Man said.

"Sure you can't." Fancy Dan scoffed. "He didn't see us trying to get in touch with him in the future, so he can't get in touch with us. He didn't see us running out of gas in the middle of the ocean either."

"Relax Fancy Dan." Montana said. "When has he not pulled through for us?"

"All I'm saying is, he should know we'd run out of gas." Fancy Dan sneered. "I think he just gets by on luck. It was lucky that Thor came along and wrecked the sub. I think all of his plans just rely on luck falling out of the sky."

Suddenly, an enormous flying saucer appeared above them. A pair of doors opened, and Ox stepped out onto the platform. "Mr. Thinker told me to say, 'like this?'"

Big Man laughed. "Help us get the package out of the hold Ox!"

* * *

"Nice digs." Iron Man admired the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier the S.S. Adamant. "I almost regret turning down your offer to work here."

"It's always on the table." Fury said. "And it's not like your boss Stark is the only genius in the world."

"Only the smartest." Iron Man sat in a chair on the main deck where an agent was bringing them briefing files.

"So, this Hulk." Thor said. "He does not sound very smart. How has he been able to evade you?"

Nick Fury laid down the papers. "General 'Thunderbolt' Ross. He's been pursuing the Hulk for three years now."

"Guy needs a hobby." Iron Man noted.

"According to the information he presented, the Hulk started out as Bruce Banner, a noted radiologist. He was on the fast track to a Nobel prize for his efforts to cure osteoporosis. But five years ago, driving to his lab, he got into a car accident with one of the lab's chemical trucks. His wife grew sick, and as he searched for a cure there was another lab accident."

"Truly, this man has the worst luck in midgard." Thor said.

"Yeah, well that's before the really bad stuff happened." Fury continued. "If he wasn't as effected as his wife was in the car accident, this one pushed him over the edge. I don't know what happened. Nobody does, except maybe him. But the main thing is, whenever Banner gets angry he turns into the Hulk. And the angrier he gets, the stronger he gets. His wife died soon after, and the Hulk started handing out property damage like candy on Halloween."

"So what have they been doing to catch him?" Iron Man asked.

"General Ross has been hunting him for three years." Fury said. "Initially, the only hope they had seemed to be hitting him while he was Bruce. The problem with that is, Bruce is smart and inventive. The longer Ross has hunted him, the more he's gotten better at avoiding being hunted. And once Banner goes Hulk, there's just no stopping him. A year ago though, a military scientist named Bolivar Trask got caught in one of the Hulk's rampage. He's been helping Ross build new weapons for the Hulk, even coming up with a 'Hulkbuster' just recently. But nothing works. If Bruce goes Hulk, then you two are the only things on earth we haven't tried."

"A dire strait indeed." Thor said. "And we shall not fail, friend Fury."

"Director Fury." All heads turned to a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with a nice hat and mustach walking up to them. "We're approaching Stamford now sir."

"Thank you agent Hogan." Fury said. He stood, Thor and Iron Man following him. "Remember, nothing that's been tried so far has been able to take down the Hulk. If we don't take Banner and the Hulk is too much for you, we switch to plan B. We keep attacking until we can lure it out of a populated area."

The two of them walked down to the drop hatch with agent Dugan. "General Ross has the area surrounded." He said. "We're letting you take the first shot at Hulk, but Ross is eager to get in there. After all, when all is said and done you're just untrained civilians and he's been doing this for years. So if you think you can't handle it, fall back immediately and he'll take over."

"Understood." Iron Man said. "Don't worry, we can handle this." Agent Dugan nodded and cleared the bay.

"Are you ready for this Iron Man?" Thor asked.

"Just try and keep up." Iron Man said. The hatch opened and the pair of them flew out, down to the suburban area of Stamford. The two of them flew down, watching the giant machines forming a circle around the area the Hulk was supposed to be living in.

The two of them landed at the front of the house. "You want first dibs?" Iron Man asked.

"We shall go in together." Thor said.

"Alrighty then." Iron Man raised a fist and a small blast from it knocked the door off its hinges. "Bruce Banner!" Iron Man said walking in. "We know you're in there! You've been on the run from the law for too long! The Hulk goes down today!"

Silence.

"I shall search upstairs." Thor said. "You keep a wary eye on the door."

"Do you really think he'd try to go for the door?" Iron Man asked.

Thor turned around. "Apparently not." He pointed and Iron Man turned around just in time to see Bruce Banner driving off out of the driveway.

"Let's go!" The two heroes flew after him. Bruce saw them in his mirror. He knew this was it. This time the Hulk was going down for sure. Thor and Iron Man had the drop on him – the two heroes had only shown up to the public last month, and as far as he was aware he'd done absolutely nothing to give away his position. His mind raced to find some way he could get away. He pressed a button on the dash, and the trunk opened up and released chaff.

"What the –" Iron Man had to swerve out of the way as Thor plowed straight through. "He outfitted his car? With anti-missile defenses?"

Thor emerged only slightly singed from the chaff. Bruce but a brick on the gas and stood up in his seat, pulling the chord that opened his parachute. Thor fell back as the sheet covered him. "Why does he have a parachute?" Iron Man asked to himself.

As Bruce drove on, he saw the Hulkbusters. "Not again." He moaned. He took a remote out of his pocket and pressed a button.

All around the neighborhood, t.v. sets turned on or switched to Bruce's face. "This is a breaking news bulletin." The recording said. "The Hulk is currently in the suburban area of Stamford. We advise all families to stay calm, but to move into your storm cellars or your basements until the crisis is over."

"End of the line Banner." Iron Man said, flying in front of the car.

"Look out!" He yelled, swerving out of the way. Iron Man looked behind him and got hit by a blast from the Hulk busters.

"Hey Ross!" Iron Man yelled. "Watch where you aim those things!"

"Well next time don't stand between us and the target." Ross said over the radio.

Bruce's car swerved through the streets as shells blew up the pavement around him. One blast hit too close and his car flipped over. "Oh noooo!" The car crashed, hitting a street light.

"Oh my." Thor said. "Come Iron Man. He might be dead." The two of them approached the upside down car.

"Gamma readings?" Ross asked inside a military van a safe distance away.

"Scanners are going wild." Dr. Trask said. "He's going Hulk."

"Get out of there!" Ross yelled at Iron Man through the radio. "Get out of the line of fire!"

The upside down car rose off the ground, lifted by the two massive green fists. The Hulk grew taller, enough to overshadow Thor. "Leave… me… alone…" The Hulk grunted.

"Oh my…" Iron Man didn't finish the sentence as the Hulk threw the car at him.

"Open fire!" Ross yelled. "Open fire!"

The Hulkbusters opened up. Rockets zoomed in on the Hulk, and he ran towards them, letting them blow up around him. "Hulk smash!" He screamed, jumping into the air and into the nearest Hulkbuster and tore it apart. He jumped at another one, but Iron Man tackled him out of the air.

"Yeah, I can smash too you know!" Iron Man said, holding the Hulk in front of him and flying him into the pavement.

"Iron Man has engaged the Hulk." Trask informed Ross.

The Hulk swung a massive fist at Iron Man, sending him flying. Thor Flew in and brought his hammer down. He swung four times, each blow punctuated by lightning. "Have you tasted enough of Mjollnir yet beast?" He asked.

The Hulk glared at him. "Nope." He kicked Thor off of him, and tore a minivan in two halves to use as makeshift boxing gloves before running at him.

Iron Man woke up in a family's living room. "Ooooh, did somebody get the license plate on that Hulk?"

He looked up and saw a little girl staring at him, frightened. "Get out of here kid." He said, immediately serious. "Ross!" He said into his helmet. "Why isn't the area evacuated?"

"Because if we evacuated everybody he would have seen us coming." Ross said. "Listen, you're not here to think, you're here to stop the Hulk!"

Iron Man watched as Thor and the Hulk fought outside. The he heard something, and he turned to the t.v. "The Hulk is currently in the suburban area of Stamford." Bruce's recording said. "We advise all families to stay calm, but to move into your storm cellars or basements until the crisis is over."

Thor swung his hammer, gathering electricity with it before throwing it at the Hulk. He roared in pain as lightning coursed over him. He breathed heavily, touching the scorch mark on his chest, before roaring again and charging at Thor. Thor tried to fly away, but the Hulk leaped up into the air after him, sending him flying back to the ground in one mighty punch.

Thor stood and tore his cape off, flinging it at the Hulk. The Hulk roared as the cape blinded him, and Thor ran circles around him, dodging his wild swings and striking some mighty blows. Hulk eventually tore off the cape and grabbed one of Thor's fists. "You think you're stronger than me!" Hulk yelled.

"I'm definitely smarter, troll." Mjollnir flew at the back of Hulk's head with a resounding crack. Thor used the momentum to throw the Hulk towards the Hulkbusters, who fired at him in unison. Mjollnir flew back to Thor's hand and he walked to the edge of the crater the Hulkbusters had made in the middle of the street. The Hulk glared at him as radiation steamed off of his body from the Hulkbuster's special rounds.

"Hast thou had enough?"

The Hulk gritted his teeth. "Have you?" He punched into the ground and tore up a pipe. He aimed it at Thor, and a jet of steaming water knocked him off his feet. The Hulk leaped out of the crater, landing on the barrel of one Hulkbuster's main gun. He picked it up by the barrel and swung it at the other two.

Thor was back in the air and a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky. It struck the Hulk and for a second it illuminated his skeleton. The Hulk roared and charged Thor, pile driving him into the street.

"Wait Hulk!" Iron Man flew in front of him. "We don't want to fight you!"

"What?" Thor asked incredulously.

"Too late for that tin man." The Hulk said, swinging his fist down at him.

Iron Man flew out of the way. "Seriously!" He yelled. "We just want to talk!"

"Listen to him." Hulk turned and sniffed. The ghostly image of Bruce Banner was standing next to him. "I want to hear what he has to say."

The Hulk's face contorted with rage and he turned back to Iron Man. "If you want to talk so badly, why are you with them?" He pointed at the pair of Hulkbusters climbing over the wreckage.

"Because they said you were a monster." Iron Man said. "But after what I've seen, I don't really believe it."

The Hulk was surprised.

"What are they doing?" Ross asked. "Do you have a visual on them?"

"They're…" Trask shook his head. "They're just talking."

Ross growled. "Fire the Ion cannon."

The Hulkbuster took aim at the Hulk. The Hulk saw the gun as it fired a red beam head towards him. He pushed Iron Man and Thor out of the way, taking the full blast. "Aaaaah!" He screamed as the red energy coursed over his body. When it was over, the Hulk stumbled to the ground.

"What in Odin's name was that?" Thor asked.

"My armors shields are at half power and I didn't even get a direct blast." Iron Man turned on hi commlink. "Ross! What was that?"

"Trask calls it an Ion cannon." Ross said. "Experimental, until now. And from the looks of things it works like a charm. Get out of there, we'll take it from here."

"With all due respect General." Iron Man said. "I think we can talk to the Hulk about this. I think you shooting him is only making the situation worse."

"Listen up tin can." The General said. "You're just a glorified bodyguard to a rich boy that has a special suit. I've been chasing the Hulk for years. He's a monster, who only knows how do destroy everything he touches. And I've finally got a weapon that can hurt him. Now get out of the firing line!"

More Hulkbusters rolled down the streets. Their guns loomed over the three of them as they aimed.

* * *

The Thinker checked his watch. "Ross should be aiming his big guns at them by now." He said with a smile. "And if everything goes according to schedule, phase two will commence in one minute." He sat down on a park bench overlooking the White House. "Time to watch the fireworks." He said in a happy sing song voice.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	2. Assembled prt 2

Thor, Iron Man, and the Hulk were surrounded by Hulkbusters. "This is your last chance Iron Man." The General said. "Get out of the firing line."

"Go." The Hulk said. "I can take care of myself."

"We're not going anywhere." Iron Man said. "Stand down Ross."

"Wait, I don't understand." Thor said. "Why are we fighting alongside the troll?"

"Because we're heroes." Iron Man said. "And we don't kill somebody when they're willing to do things quietly."

Thor thought about it. "Aye." He concluded. "'Tis dishonorable."

Ross gritted his teeth. "Fire." He told Trask. He nodded, and the cannons on the Hulkbusters all went off at once. Hulk jumped out of the way, followed by Thor and Iron Man. Thor swung his hammer at a Hulkbuster, knocking its head off and kicking it to the ground. He threw his hammer at one behind him. It flew straight into its Ion cannon, jamming it and blowing it up. The smoking hammer flew back to Thor hand.

Iron Man flew around one, shooting at joints, making it collapse. He shot a rocket t one of them, and it exploded and fell back.

The Hulk ran over and picked up a Hulkbuster by the leg. He swung it around like a robot baseball bat, knocking down every other Hulkbuster.

Ross growled. "Trask, get on the line with S.H.I.E.L.D. and tell them that as of now, Iron Man and Thor should be considered fugitives of the law."

**Avengers Unlimited: Assembled, prt. 2**

The two secret security agents stood at attention at their post guarding the White House's back gate. Suddenly, several people ran from the nearest street, screaming. The picked up a pair of rifles and readied themselves. But when the thing finally rounded the street, they couldn't believe their eyes.

An eight foot tall golden android was walking towards the white house.

The guards opened fire. After a couple of seconds of unloading bullets into the android, they stopped. The bullet holes healed up. The android looked at the guards and a golden orb came to its hand. The orb shaped itself into an exact replica of the guns the guards were holding.

The guards ran as the android began firing on them, and started walking towards the back gate. "We have a situation!" One of them yelled. "A giant robot is coming through the back gate! It is armed and dangerous!"

In the Oval office, the president's meeting was interrupted as six secret service agents ushered him out of the room.

Outside the front gate, the Thinker watched with joy as the chaos unfolded. Chaos to them... to him, it was pure predictable order. Order at its finest. He walked up to the front gate. "Excuse me sirs, may I come in?" He asked. As the guards raised their rifles, two shots rang out, and a pair of needles embedded themselves into their necks. They were fired from the roof of a nearby building, aimed and timed by the Thinker. "Thank you for your cooperation." He said.

He raised a device up to the gates. After a second, the device beeped and the gates opened. The Thinker walked through, utterly confident that nobody would bother him. He'd done the math after all.

He walked through the White House's front door. The tour guides were ushering the tourists out. He held his device up to a security panel, and it beeped again. When he left the room all the doors shut.

He walked calmly down a restricted hallway, stopping once to place a disc on the floor, then continuing on. "Hey, you can't be in here!" The Thinker didn't even turn around as the disc on the floor electrocuted the secret service agent behind him before he could even aim his gun.

The android walked down a hallway filled with secret service agents. "Freeze!" They yelled. He scanned them all. Then he scanned the wall. He walked through the wall, leaving a pile of rubble in his wake. The agents tried to shoot at him, without success.

The Thinker turned a corner, and an agent blocked his way. "Don't move!" She yelled.

The Thinker smiled, and took out a comb. "Showtime." He sang, running it through his thin hair.

The agent raised an eyebrow, then the white house shook, and a large section of the ceiling broke off and fell on her, knocking her out cold. The Thinker nodded to her limp body, and stepped around it, through the door she was guarding. "Ladies and gentlemen may I have your attention please!" He announced. The people there for the press conference stood up in their chairs and some started screaming. "Oh, please be quiet, I'm not here to hurt you." He said snidely. "All cameras on me!" He snapped his fingers. "Spit spot please, I haven't all day."

He stood at the podium in front of the painting of the white house. "Questions please! I know you have them!"

One hesitantly raised his hand. "Yes you! You are about to ask me who I am. You may call me the Thinker!"

Another. "You were about to ask me if I'm a mind reader. Not at all my dear woman, I can simply calculate the future through a complex mathematical formula the likes of which you could never understand."

He pointed. "Yes! I do, in fact, have a hand in the sirens you hear in the background. I am currently kidnapping the President of the United States of America!"

"Nobody can stop me! Not even Thor! Not even Iron Man! If my calculations are correct, they've defected to the other side of the law by now anyway."

"Yes, of course you can see proof. Just give me two seconds."

The room shook, and the android walked through the wall behind him. The president was over his shoulder. "Let me go!" He yelled. "I am the president of the united states! Whatever your goals are, kidnapping me will do you no good!"

"Of course they will." The Thinker said. "I did the math."

"You're mad! Mad!"

"Mad!" The Thinker roared. "If it's madness to simply think a little, then I'm the maddest thinker there ever was!"

The android turned around and began to fire at the Agents coming behind him. The Mad Thinker grabbed a hold of it and climbed on. "For the majority of you who missed this!" The Mad Thinker yelled. "Mr. McGee was the only one with sense enough to keep his camera rolling! Spread the word! I am the Thinker! I cannot be stopped!" He cackled as the android shot a hole in the ceiling and climbed through it to freedom.

* * *

Hank Pym was standing in front of a mirror. "I can make a helmet that can communicate with insect life." He said. "And yet… I just can't make a decent superhero costume." The costume he was wearing was too snug on him. He thought it was garish, and the cape itched. "I need a good tailor." He said.

Then he heard the television behind him. "In breaking news, the President of the United States of America had been kidnapped."

"What?" Hank moved closer to the television as McGee explained the news.

"A man so far known only as the Mad Thinker has just walked into the White House with a giant robot in tow." Footage of the President being hauled away by a golden robot. "The Mad Thinker claims he has the ability to calculate the future. As of now, the CIA has no comment on the steps being taken to retrieve the president. Neither Thor or Iron Man have been seen, and rumor abounds that they may have defected to the other side of the law."

"What?" Hank was shocked. "That's impossible..."

"Tony Stark is unavailable to comment on the state of his bodyguard Iron Man. The country waits with baited breath for something – anything – to save the day."

"And that's my cue if ever I heard one." Hank Pym stood tall. "America needs a hero. And Ant-man will answer the call!" He ran out of the lab.

He ran back into the lab and looked in the mirror one more time. He tore off his cape, and ran out again.

* * *

Barricades had been set up. Police forces had been beaten back. Cars lay abandoned. And in the midst of the wreckage, the Mad Thinker stood. Not a single scratch on him. His loyal android at his side, guns bristling from every point on its skin. The Enforcers brandishing their smoking weapons, Big Man holding his bleeding shoulder. The two of them were framed in the jumbotron as they admired the wreckage before them.

"Not half bad." The Mad Thinker said. "I didn't predict that one taxi driver with a gun, but at least you're alive, eh Big Man?"

"Yeah." He grunted. "And you'll keep our promise?"

"Undoubtedly." He said. "And look, here come our star players."

The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier loomed over them. The Mad Thinker smiled. "They think this is going to be easy. They think that this will be their first test against a supervillain, and that they will pass. They are slightly unnerved, but they think, 'even if they're more powerful individually, we still have them out numbered'."

"Well, they do, don't they?" Fancy Dan asked. Big Man slapped his head.

The Mad Thinker smiled. "Not for long."

* * *

"Status report?" Nick Fury asked.

"He's just standing there sir." Agent Dugan said. "We can't get a shot off with the cannons though. The president is too close. The snipers are in place, but I doubt it would do much good."

Fury nodded. "Alright, so we play on his ego. We goad him along until he's exactly where we want him."

"Unfortunately Sergeant Fury, you're exactly where he wants you." The voice echoed through the helicarrier. Screens began to go blank, only to turn on again to a face. A face with a bright smile and green eyes. "Hello. I'm Quasimodo. I'm the Mad Thinker's A.I."

"I have taken command of the U.S.S. Valiant. All of your systems, all of your guns, are mine. All of your data, I possess. And my master the Thinker is silently laughing at you."

Suddenly a scream came. One of the computer technicians on the bridge began to curl up and gasp for air.

"My master has been planning this for weeks. His victory will be assured." The technician began to cry as a yellow substance flowed over his skin, engulfing him. "He has stolen self replicating nanobots from Pym industries, and I have reprogrammed them. They do not replicate in water, but they multiply by the thousands if they make contact with human blood. My master was able to smuggle several thousand nanobots into a bottled water plant. One nanite per bottle. Enough to transform an ordinary man into… something else entirely."

The man, now a solid gold android, got up from his desk and began to walk onto the bridge. Nick fury fired at it, but the bullets deflected off its shell.

* * *

"I still do not fully understand." Thor said. He and Iron Man were flying through the air, followed by the Hulk who leaped with his extraordinarily string legs. "First we fought the Hulk, then we helped the Hulk, and now the Hulk is on our side?"

"We have our priorities." Iron Man said. "I still don't understand whose side the Hulk is on, but if he can help us, then we should accept. The Mad Thinker is obviously very insane and very dangerous. He's turning innocent people into his army. We have to save them, and the president."

"Still, combat should be undertaken with people you trust." Thor said. "I do not trust the Hulk."

"Don't worry blondie." Hulk yelled. "Hulk may be a monster, but Hulk's an American monster!"

"That's not exactly comforting." Thor said.

* * *

T'Challa was in the middle of a street side café when people started turning into androids. He ran into an alleyway tore open his suit. A stylized picture of a panther rested on the fabric underneath.

He quickly changed into his royal battle garb and climbed a nearby fire escape to the roofs. He saw the Valiant, and that the golden army was heading towards it. He ran towards the center of the storm.

* * *

In New York, the streets were suddenly filled with crying people. First from the eerily glowing people, then from the ones running away from the golden army.

Wanda Maximoff sat in meditation. "But why can't I help?" She asked.

Dr. Strange looked out of the window. "It is not our place to interfere with the affairs of mortals." He said. "Our duty is to protect the Sanctum Sanctorum. Nothing more. The last time magic was revealed to the public, people were burnt at the stake simply for being left-handed."

"You sound like my father." She said. "People are ready for us."

"Your father may be a cruel man Wanda." Dr. Strange said. "But he is also wise. Keeping our existence a secret is the best option for all involved. Trust me."

* * *

"Sergeant Fury!" Agent Hill yelled from a corridor in the Helicarrier. "We are encountering unknown hostiles down here, do you copy!"

The comlinks seemed to be down. Agent Hill behind a barricade of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents shooting at agent Dan who had suddenly and inexplicably turned into a golden android. Bullets just seemed to bounce off of its shell, and it raised it's arms and fire black in golden energy blasts.

"Fall back!" She yelled. "Fall back!" Suddenly, three more androids walked up behind them.

* * *

Nick Fury was under fire by several of the androids as he and Dugan took cover behind the steering console. If they could get the droids to shoot that, they could keep the Valiant moving forward, then they could wreck the engines and crash it into the bay. Better wrecked then in the hands of the Mad Thinker.

"Oh no." The androids stopped blasting at them. "We're too clever to fall for that." The androids leaped over the console and began attacking Fury hand to hand.

* * *

Janet Van Dyne was sipping a creamy soy latte at her studio. Carribean music from her favorite band played in the background as a photographer took several snapshots of the company's newest model. "Keep it up M.J." The boss told the red-head. "You're on a cloud, you're at the beach, you're strutting your stuff for the man of your dreams."

Janet smiled at the realization that this was her world now. Soon she'd be the greatest fashion designer in the world. Suddenly, she heard screaming. "M.J.! M.J., what's happening?" As she watched, M.J. transformed into a shiny golden robot.

Suddenly, she felt a cramping in her stomach. She screamed. "Help me!" She yelled. "Somebody… help…" Her mouth filled with a metal golden wave. Her skin suddenly shone and then she was thinking at the speed of light. A voice filled her head…

I SERVE THE THINKER, I SERVE THE THINKER, I SERVE THE THINKER, I SERVE THE THINKER, I SERVE THE THINKER, I SERVE THE THINKER, I SERVE THE THINKER...

"No! No I won't!" She screamed. She felt hot, like she was in a tropical beach somewhere. And then…

She fell to the ground. "Ouch." She said, rubbing her seat. Then she realized where she was. She was in the same studio all right. But she was the size of a bug.

"Anomaly detected." She turned, and saw the robotic M.J. staring down at her.

"Oh my…" She tried to hide behind a gigantic coffee cup.

"Host body absorbing the nanobots." The android said. "Host refusing to be assimilated. Situation, unacceptable. Commence termination." She raised her hand and fired a blast at Janet.

"Woah!" She'd watched enough sci-fi to know what was going on. She dived out of the way… and off the table. She felt the coffee explode behind her and closed her eyes expecting to hit the ground. Except she didn't. Why wasn't she falling? She looked behind her and saw a pair of wings growing out of the back of her sweater.

She turned and saw M.J. readying another blast. "Oh no you don't!" She swerved through the air dodging the volley of golden shots. Her mind spun, and calculated trajectories and angles and speed. She felt like she was fighting the robot in slow motion. She raised her own fists and fired a shot. The android took a step back.

"I'm sorry about this M.J.!" She yelled, and then she shot her own volley at the android. Somehow, she instinctively new her shots weren't as powerful, but she shot faster than the android and it was too slow to retreat.

The android began to smoke, and it collapsed on the ground. Janet grew up to her regular size. "Assimilate that." She said triumphantly.

She examined her back. Nothing. No wings. She tried to blast the roof. Nothing. Suddenly, she instinctively knew that her powers would only work when she was small. "Jan!"

Her boss Cindy ran up to her. "Jan, what just happened?"

"I don't know." Janet said. "Don't worry. Just stay here, don't attract attention, I'll go get help."

She ran out of the room. Out of the window, she could see dozens of androids walking down the street. She didn't know why she didn't turn into one of them. She didn't know why she had such power. All she knew was that people needed her help… and that she would give it.

She grabbed some clothes from the rack. A black and red dress. Some knee-high shoes. Some black arm length gloves. And a mask. It was just her style.

* * *

"Isn't it glorious?" The Thinker asked.

The Golden army marched up to them, surrounding Times Square. "With this force at my command, we shall rule the world! Nobody will be able to stand against us!" He turned to the figure in the chair. "Isn't that right mister President?" He pulled the bag off of his head, and revealed his golden face.

"Boss?" Big Man asked, clutching his stomach.

"Yes of course. I haven't forgotten." The Thinker pulled a remote out of his belt. "Quasimodo?"

The face appeared on the screen. "Yes master?"

"Activate the Answer protocol."

Big Man howled and a swarm of nanobots covered him. They weren't golden like the others; these one were black. As the inky swarm overhwlemed him, a white mark appeared on his chest with the letter A on it.

"How do you feel?" Thinker asked.

"Like a new man." Big Man said. "Like I could do the impossible."

The Mad Thinker nodded. "Indeed. Now you can adjust yourself to answer any problem."

"I like that." He said. "Call me, the Answer."

"I will." The Thinker said. "You know, the chinese had a saying. If a man can catch an insect with chop sticks, he can do anything." He pulled a pair of chop sticks out of his suit and grabbed Ant-man out of the air. "Don't you think Pym?"

Pym grew out of the chop sticks and threw a punch at the Thinker. He was out of the way before Pym had time to adjust. The Answer grabbed the swinging fist and threw Pym over his head. Pym landed on his back with a thud. "You'll never get away with this."

"On the contrary." The Thinker said. "I already have gotten away with this. You just haven't realized it yet."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Pym pressed his belt, and suddenly grew fifty feet. "Oh wait, I do."

The Thinker grinned. "Allow me to offer my rebuttal."

The large android behind him grew to match Pym's height. "Height manipulation abilities; assimilated." He stepped forward and gave Pym a royal uppercut.

"My amazing android can copy thinks at a molecular level." The Mad Thinker said with a smile, as the Android knocked Pym into the side of a building. A swarm of smaller golden androids emerged from the building's crater and held him down. "Anything you do, he can do." The android delivered a final resounding punch. "And it doesn't have a glass jaw."

The android touched Pym's belt and the two of them shrunk down. The Thinker's Quasimodo device beeped. "Master, there's been an anomaly."

"Not now Quasimodo." The Thinker said. "If I'm right, and I always am, three more heroes are incoming."

Iron Man, Hulk and Thor flew down main street. "I see him up ahead." Iron Man said. "I say we go in slowly. I'll distract him, while Thor…"

"No!" Hulk roared. "Hulk will smash him now!" He jumped ahead of the two of them.

"Hulk wait!"

Hulk landed in the middle of Time Square and the Awesome Android stepped between him and the Thinker. "Now Answer!" He yelled.

The Hulk threw a punch. Answer caught it. "Protocol: C5." He said in a metallic voice. "Power: The absorption of energy." Suddenly, the palms of the Answer's suit turned green. "That means you're not the strongest one there is any more big guy."

The Hulk roared as the Answer began draining the Hulk's powers. Green energy flowed from the Hulk and lit up the white sections of the Answer's suit.

"Get away from him!" Iron Man flew up, and blasted the Answer. The Answer just held up a hand and absorbed the energy blasts.

"Oh that's not good." A gun popped out of the Answer's arm, and he blasted Iron Man with a mixture of his own energy and Gamma energy. Iron Man slammed into a wall. "Ouch."

"Iron Man!" Thor stopped in his tracks. The Answer tossed the drained Bruce Banner aside and charged at him. "Villain! Have at thee!" Thor slammed swung his hammer at the Answer, knocking him down. "And now for you!" Thor advance on the Thinker, when a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his ankle.

"I'm not done with you!" The Answer yelled. He lifted Thor by the ankle, and with the strength of the Hulk he slammed him back into the ground again.

"Quasimodo." The Thinker said calmly.

"Yes master." It said, understanding.

The golden army advanced, hands raised. Thor got up, knocking Answer away, but then got blasted by the collection of androids. "Aaaaargh!" He screamed. He managed to stand up while being blasted, picking up his hammer. "You dare… to strike… a son of Asgard!" He threw his hammer at the Mad Thinker. The Awesome Android stepped up to block it, only to be knocked backwards off its feet. The hammer returned to Thor's hand and he swung it in a circle, using it as a shield against the blasts from the golden army.

"And, now for my personal fat lady." The Mad Thinker said with a grin. The Awesome Android picked itself up, and then grew fifty feet tall.

"Odin's name…" Thor whispered, as a correspondingly sized hammer appeared in the android's hand.

"Hammer; electricity powers; strength; assimilated."

The android brought the hammer down. The golden army stopped firing. When the hammer lifted again, Thor was lying unconscious at the bottom of the crater.

"And now Thor's down!" McGee reported from a helicopter above the scene. "The last person who could have stood against the Mad Thinker, and he's fallen. This… is a dark day for America."

* * *

Dr. Strange lied on the floor, unconscious. "I'm sorry master." Wanda said, putting on a red cloak. "But I'm not my father. I can't ignore this." A ring of red magic surrounded her, and she was lifted off of the floor. She said goodbye to the Sanctum Sanctorum, and flew out the window.

Her magic cloak billowed behind her as she surveyed the scene. smoke billowed from the streets of New York. She heard a crash and went to investigate.

"Stan! Stan, snap out of it!" The Black Panther danced around one of the androids. "I know you're in there!"

The Scarlet Witch formed a hex bolt in her hand and threw it at the android. It lit up, before the gold armor dissolved, leaving nothing but a weak old man. The Black Panther caught him in his arms.

"What did you do?" He asked the Scarlet Witch.

"My hex bolts are made of pure chaos." She said. "It shortcircuited the robot. He should be fine."

"Ah, I see." The Black Panther set him down. "I am the Black Panther, and you have my thanks."

"I'm the Scarlet Witch." She said. "I came to help with these robots but... they're everywhere. I don't know how to stop it."

The Black Panther looked down at Stan. "We should move. If the androids are linked to each other, it won't be long before others come to investigate."

* * *

Iron Man and Janet flew around the Awesome Android, blasting him. "I'm sorry, who are you again?" Iron Man asked.

"Call me, the Hornet!" She yelled.

"Well, it's good to have you!" Iron Man said. "Especially since you seem to be actually hurting it!"

"I know!" Jan yelled. "I rock!" Suddenly, time seemed to slow down. She turned and dodged just in time to avoid the Answer's grasp. "Watch the hands buddy!" She yelled, blasting him as he fell down.

"This… was not expected." The Mad Thinker said.

"The anomaly I was warning you about master." Quasimodo said. "She seems to have absorbed the nanites into her system."

The Mad Thinker calculated. "Answer! Take out Iron Man! Let the Android deal with the girl!"

"Oh yeah?" Jan asked. "You want a piece of me robo?" She blasted him, and he recoiled.

Then he shrunk. "Wing-based flight; hieght manipulation abilities; assimilated." Suddenly, the Android was her size, and flying on a tiny set of wings. She kept firing, and a hammer grew out of its arm, spinning around to make a protective shield, deflecting her shots.

"That's cheating!" She yelled.

The hammer swung. After a resounding clang she fell out of the sky. Ox caught her and gave her to Fancy Dan who stuffed her in the suitcase with Ant-man.

"Hornet!" Iron Man flew down. "I'm coming!" The Answer ran right behind him, a mixture of yellow in with the green section of his suit. He leaped up, and swatted Iron Man out of the sky. One of his boots exploded, and he careened into the ground.

The Mad Thinker raised a gun, and fired a blast at Iron Man. He grunted, and the suit shut down. "Virus gun." The Thinker said. "You need better firewalls. Of course, some people don't have hindsight until it is hindsight."

* * *

Wanda watched from a nearby rooftop. She prepared to cast a spell, but a hand caught hers. "Wait." T'Challa said. "Whatever you're going to do, we need to wait."

"We have to help them." Wanda said. "I have magic."

"He has nothing but his mind." T'Challa said. "And with it, he has managed to transform an estimate of one seventh of earth's population into his personal army, and capture five super powered beings. Can your magic do that?"

Wanda hesitated.

"The best chance they have, is if we use our minds too." T'Challa said. "We need to get abord that airship."

* * *

The Golden Army walked forward and picked up the heroes. The Mad Thinker himself sat on the Awesome Android's head as it fired up repulsers similar to Iron Man's.

The Golden Army rose up into the sky. "Yes!" The Mad Thinker yelled into McGee's camera. "Tremble world! For a new age is upon you! Today America! Tomorrow the world! The Empire of the Thinker will engulf all!"

The people of the world shuddered as they watched the news. The ones in America looked to the skies and pointed. The Golden army flew. They flew over Sydney's opera house. They flew past the Eiffel tower. They flew across America.

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Assembled prt 3

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s brig was full of its own agents. Fury and Dugan looked out through the bars as the Thinker walked past them. "Why are these lot resisting the nanite transfusion?" The Thinker asked.

"Unkown." Quasimodo said. "Whenever they are given the water, the nanites short-circuit."

"Must be a flaw in Pym's original design." The Thinker said. "Do what you can to make it work."

The Thinker left, a chill following him through the air. As he stalked the corridors of the Helicarrier, Quasimodo relayed information to him through the device in his hands. As the various conquests were reported, he felt a certain pride in his work. His mind.

"Quasimodo, are our heroic guests awake yet?"

"They are."

"Then let us go down to the brig."

He entered an elevator which carried him down to a lower level of the brig. Bright lights lit up the room, and revealed the five heroes, trapped in place. "Hello, Avengers."

**Avengers Unlimited: Assembled Prt. 3**

The five heroes hung in mid-air, suspended with energy bonds. The Hulk was gone, replaced by Bruce Banner, and Janet was shrunk down to the size of an insect. Blue sparks ran over Iron-Man's armor, keeping it inactivated.

"What did you just call us?" Iron Man asked angrily.

Ant-man had a much more thoughtful expression on. "More importantly, where are we and what have you done?"

"Who cares about that, let us out of here you freakshow!" Janet struggled against her bonds.

"It'll do no good struggling." The Mad Thinker said. "None of you can escape your bonds."

"Yeah, well I'm not going to just sit here either!" Janet fired her stings at the Thinker, but a shield flew in front of the Thinker's face, protecting him. It continued past, bouncing off a wall, and into the hand of a figure in the shadows.

"It'll do no good fighting either." He said smugly as the figure stepped out of the shadows. He wore a blue suit, with red and white stripes. A single star on his chest.

"Is that…" Iron Man stared.

"You recognize this man?" Thor asked. "Who is he?"

"That's Captain America." Iron-Man said. "He's… he's the world's greatest hero."

"Indeed." The Mad Thinker said. "My name is unimportant, but you may call me the Thinker. That's what I do. While every other person on this planet whiles away their time with mundanities, I'm the one who's constantly thinking."

"In my early years, I thought so much, that I began noticing things. Just small things, little details. But they formed the baseline in a brilliant equation. An equation of my own invention that can predict the future, right down to the smallest of details."

"For years I've successfully orchestrated a criminal empire. But alas, my equation has forseen the end of it. Because of you."

He glared at the trapped heroes. "In a weeks time, another supervillain would trick Hulk into going on a rampage. This rampage would bring the four of you together to stop him, only to discover the real villain and go after him. After this meeting, you would have gone on to become the Avengers! Earth's Mightiest heroes! No single supervillain could stand against you." He smiled. "Except I just did."

"You're crazy." Janet said. "I didn't even have powers until today."

"Of course not." The Mad Thinker waved his hand. "Did you think that I would attack you all at full strength? You would have met Ant-man here tomorrow, and in sharing your enthusiasm he would have given you the secret of his Pym particles and the two of you would have fought crime together, as Ant-man and the Wasp."

"I'm called the Hornet." Janet said. "Although, Wasp does sound cool."

"Of course!" Ant-man said. "The shipment of Pym nanites that were stolen just three days ago! That was you!"

"Indeed." The Mad Thinker smiled. "I stole the particles, adjusted them, and infected the world with them. Although, they seem to have a strange effect on the Wasp. Of course, I should have predicted this. After all, you would have given her your powers with your particles."

"So that's your plan villain?" Thor asked. "Attempt to destroy us before we assembled into the force we could be?"

"Of course." The Thinker smiled. "You see, I gave the anonymous tip to General Ross, so Iron-Man and Thor would fight him before Ant-man and Wasp were ready, and with Ross's bias make the world's only two heroes look like they've gone rogue. With public opinion turned against you, I would then introduce Captain America into the fray."

"He's a hero!" Iron-Man said. "How did you get him into your plot?"

"He's being awfully quiet for a hero." Jan said.

"I have seen that dead look in his eyes before." Thor said. "He is not in his own mind."

"Well spoken Thor." The Mad Thinker said. "You see, Captain America didn't die during his war; he was trapped under arctic waters. With no way to escape, he succumbed to the icy darkness. His super-soldier serum was enough to keep him alive, albeit frozen. I recovered him using a stolen Stark submersible, and thawed him out. He is now under the complete control of my nanites. With Iron Man and Thor out of the people's good graces, and my androids taking over the world, it will be easy for Captain America to make a triumphant return."

The Mad Thinker smiled. "First, first I will destroy the world. Then, the few humans who haven't been transformed into androids will rise from the ashes, Captain America at the head. I will amuse myself with a couple of years of fighting, and in the end when Captain America seizes control over the entire world, the people of earth will be too tired from years of fighting to resist an ally."

"You're mad!" Janet yelled. "Capital C crazy!"

"Mad!" The Mad Thinker roared at her. "Mad? Do you know who you are? Before today you were nothing! Before today, you couldn't spare a thought to the world around you, so engulfed were you in your own petty importance's! You don't think! None of you think! And you have the temerity to call me mad, just because I do!"

The Answer coughed quietly. "Um… boss…"

"Keep in your place, Answer!" The Mad Thinker yelled. He straightened himself. "I don't know why I bother gloating to you people if you can't appreciate my genius. Quasimodo!"

"Yes master."

"I want them dead. All of them. I want to know who Iron-Man is behind his mask first, and I want to know why the nanites didn't effect Wasp the way they were supposed to." The Mad Thinker stormed out, followed by the Answer.

"And Captain; stay here and make sure the Wasp doesn't escape." The Thinker commanded. "I swear, have to think of everything around here."

As the Mad Thinker passed by the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's cells, Dugan's eyes followed him. The other agents watched him pass with trepidation. He didn't notice anything amiss.

He didn't notice Nick Fury was missing.

Dugan pressed the S.H.E.I.L.D. insignia on the front of his uniform.

* * *

"Dugan's given the signal." Fury said. The Black Panther and the Scarlet Witch were sitting next to them, as they were crouched down in a narrow corridor. S.H.I.E.L.D. had the most advanced air distribution and A/C facilities money could buy. The air vents along the corridors were just a show to mask a secret series of passages through the hellicarrier that only top personnel knew about.

"So what's the plan?" Scarlet Witch asked.

"Your hex bolts." Fury said. "They short out machines, so there are most valuable weapon right now. You've managed to keep my agents from turning into those androids, can they turn an android back into human."

"No machine can survive a blast from my hex bolts." She said. "These are nanotech biografts, so they should revert back to normal."

"You osund like you know a lot about machines." The Black Panther said.

"My dad's a genius." She said with a slight grimace. "These aren't so hard to figure out."

"Alright." Fury said. "First, we free everybody in the brig. Then, we fight our way through that army of his until we get to the Mad Thinker. If you can shut down Quasimodo, then we'll have the helicarrier back, and we can put up a decent fight."

"The Thinker's army are all just people." The Black Panther said. "One of them is your president."

"I didn't say it was the best plan." Fury admitted. "But it's the only one we have."

"We should focus on saving the other heroes first." The Scarlet Witch said.

"My agents are more reliable." Fury argued.

"I agree with Scarlet Witch." Black Panther said. "The Thinker seems genuinely scared of them. They seem to be our best bet."

"Focus on their section of the brig with your mind." The Scarlet Witch said in a soothing voice, holding Nick Fury's hand. The three of them disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

When they reappeared, they were in the brig. A pair of saws were attempting to cut through Iron-man's face mask, while electricity coursed through the others, giving them a slow and torturous death.

Suddenly, a shield swung out and knocked Fury out. It ricocheted off the wall and back into Captain America's hand. "This does not bode well." The Black Panther said.

"Don't hurt him, he's being controlled by the nanites!" Iron Man yelled.

"If that's who I think it is, we're the ones you should be worrying about." Scarlet Witch said. The Black Panther charged, leaping across the room like his namesake. The two traded blows. The Black Panther danced around, slashing with his claws, but they just scratched harmlessly off his shield. Sparks flew as the Panther became a veritable whirlwind, but Captain America just let the claws be deflected off his shield until he pulled a hand back and released a devastating punch.

Scarlet Witch started blasting him with her hex bolts. He dodged every one of them, running along the wall to where the Black Panther had come to rest. He scooped him up using him as a shield and threw his normal shield at Scarlet Witch. The Black Panther flipped the Captain's hold on him, and Scarlet Witch ducked to the side. The shield bounced off the wall behind her, then back to the wall behind Cap, and it struck Black Panther in the back.

"Hey, geniuses!" Wasp yelled at her fellow captives. "The crazy man said I could escape! Any ideas about how?"

Ant-man gritted his teeth as the electricity coursed through him. "If the nanites had an adverse effect on you… you must have absorbed the Pym particles in them somehow… if your blasts are on the sub-bionic wavelength... should negate your cuffs…"

Wasp was one step ahead of him. She fired up her stingers and the energy cuffs around her wrists dissipated. Then she went for the ones around her legs.

Captain America was swinging the Black Panther around by his collar. His feet skinned against a wall and he used it to propel himself up, leaping over Captain America's head. The Scarlet Witch fired another hex bolt while Panther was out of range, but Captain was too quick. His leg shot up, kicking the Black Panther in mid-air, before hooking around him and bringing him down to block the bolt.

"Hey! Strong and silent!" Captain America turned and saw the Wasp. "I'm escaping! Look at me, escaping right under your nose!"

Captain America's instincts told him to continue fighting the real threats, but the Thinker's order to keep her from escaping shot to the forefront of his mind. And the small part of him resisting urged that order on.

Captain charged at Wasp. Seeing her chance, Scarlet Witch fired at hex bolt at her, charging her up with chaos energy. When Captain America's fingers closed around her, the energy ran down his arm and through his body, and he collapsed on the ground.

* * *

"What's happening in the brig?" The Mad Thinker asked, as the alarm sounded across the bridge. "Quasimodo, report!"

"Wasp has escaped."

"Ah, good." The Mad Thinker sighed, and chuckled. "For a moment, I thought I had left a variable unaccounted for. Just tell me when Captain America has her caught."

"All monitor equipment in the brig has been neutralized."

A vain in the Thinker's forehead twitched. "What."

* * *

"That wasn't my finest moment." The Black Panther groaned.

"It's not my finest moment either." Iron Man said. "Now can somebody get us out of here?"

The Scarlet witch fried the machines, and the cuffs let them go. The four heroes landed. "Many thanks friends." Thor said, pulling Black Panther and Scarlet Witch into a hug. "Who are you?"

"I am the Black Panther." Panther said. "And this is the Scarlet Witch."

"Whoever you are we need to catch up later." Iron Man said. "Right now we need to get out of here, regroup, and make a plan."

"No." Captain America stood up. All eyes turned to him.

"I was awake." Captain America said. "I was awake the whole time, unable to control my actions. The Mad Thinker… he wants to rule the world. He wants to take the freedom and justice that so many have died for, and twist it for his own purposes."

"But despite the Mad Thinker's plans, he's made one mistake; he's brought us all together. He's scared of you, because he knows the effect one man can have in a fight. That's all it takes; one man, brave enough to stand up for what he believes in. One man can make a difference turn the tides of war, liberate a country, introduce a new idea. And here and now, there isn't one of us, but eight."

"You've been beaten. You've been played like a rusty instrument to the Thinker's demented tune. This is a dark time, but it's in these dark times where we need to ask; where do you stand? Do you stand weary but resolute in the gates to the underworld? Do you stand in the face of oppression?"

"Captain America." Iron Man said in awe. "We just got a pep talk from Captain America. Of course, what we really need is a plan."

"I have one of those too." Cap held his hand out. "So what do you say? Are we Avengers?"

"Aye." Thor said placing his hand over Cap's. "Today, I stand with you Captain, and with the Avengers."

"You know, I have a hard time believing that's the only name we could think up for ourselves." Iron Man said. "But I'm in too."

"Yeah!" Wasp put her hand in. "Let's save us a world!"

"I'm a scientist, not a fighter." Ant-man said. "But I'll do what I can."

"This will prove to be an excellent adventure." The Black Panther put his hand in with the other.s

Wanda bit her lip then sighed. "My boss will kill me." She said. "But I'm with you guys."

The room shook as the Hulk kicked the door down. "We can hold hands later." He said. "Right now, it's time to smash."

* * *

"What's happening?" The Mad Thinker yelled as the base shook.

"Security cameras are unresponsive, moving up towards the bridge."

"It looks like more than the Wasp has escaped." Montana whispered to Fancy Dan. "We should get out of here."

"Stay right there!" The Mad Thinker yelled at them. "I just need time… I just need to get all of the variables in order…"

"We'll give you that time Thinker." Answer said. "But you better do some real Olympic level math here, because there are six really angry super-powered types heading right for us, and even I can do that math."

"Eight."

"What?"

"There would have to be eight superheroes for escape to be possible, and they've undoubtedly freed Fury and his agents too."

"That's not reassuring."

"We still have an army."

"They are approaching the Brig." Quasimodo said.

The door to the Bridge burst open. The Avengers spilled in, followed by Nick fury and the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "I think it's time we had a talk." Captain America said.

The Thinker backed away. "Awesome Android! Destroy them!"

The bridge shook as the enormous robot charged.

"This one's mine!" The Hulk roared with a smiled. He charged at the android like a bullet. They met in the center of the bridge, and collided with a force that shattered the windows. The android was knocked outside, falling down.

The Hulk grinned. "Is that all you've got!" He yelled. The Mad Thinker began backing away, when something else shook the bridge. The Android flew up to Hulk's eye level outside the ship using Iron Man's repulsers.

"New levels of strength; assimilated." The Android said, almost mockingly.

The Hulk laughed maniacally. "Oh, it is on!" He ran the length of the bridge and leaped out of the shattered window, not even slowing down when the Awesome Android fired a unibeam at him. "Hulk! Smash!" The two of them fell tumbling out of the sky, pummeling each other.

The Mad Thinker turned from the spectacle and shielded his eyes, as Nick Fury and the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. began firing at him. The Answer intercepted the bullets with a green force field. "Boss, what should we do?" He asked.

The Mad Thinker began to calculate.

"Quasimodo!" He yelled. "I want every single unit in the Golden Army on the bridge now!" He gestured to the enforcers. "What do I pay you three for? I want everybody except Captain America dead, and don't try to attack Thor!"

The Golden Army flew down and pointed their blasters. "Everybody down!" Fury yelled. The Agents took cover behind the computor banks and stations on the bridge and returned fire. Black Panther climbed up the wall, dodging the blasts with practiced ease, while Thor and Captain America charged.

Wanda raised her hands to return fire on the androids, but Iron Man caught her. "No!" He yelled. "Those are innocent people out there! If you shut down the androids now, they'll fall to their deaths!"

"Well, what else should I do?" She asked.

"Blast him!" Iron Man pointed at Answer.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents managed to hold off the advancing androids, but Panther still found himself dodging an increasing amount of fire. Suddenly, a chord wrapped around his ankle, and with a flick of the wrist, Montana pulled on his whip and brought the Black Panther falling down.

"Here kitty." He said mockingly, as Fancy Dan pulled out two solid gold guns and Ox advanced, hitting his palm with his fist.

Black Panther looked at them all, taking in the situation. Then he cut the whip with his claws and settled into a fighting stance.

Fancy Dan was first. He fired, but the Black Panther dodged his bullets and rand at the three of them. He caught Montana's whip, pulling it back and elbowing him in the jugular, putting him straight to sleep. Whirling around, he used Montana as a springboard to reach eye level with Ox, kicking him several times in the space of a second. Pushing off from him, he soared over Fancy Dan's head, always a hair's width away from the bullets, landing behind him and pushing him towards the falling Ox. Dan had a second to comprehend his fate, his eyes going wide, before the mountain of a man fell on him.

The Mad Thinker raised his virus gun, and fired at Iron Man. Iron Man took the blast, and the gun exploded. "Took your advice and upgraded my firewalls." He said, raising both gauntlets and blasting the Mad Thinker.

The Mad Thinker raised his force shields, and the blast deflected off harmlessly. But Captain America leaped up, and forced his shield through the Mad Thinker's energy field, short-circuiting it. "Stand down Iron Man." He said. "This one is mine. Protect the others."

He threw a punch, but the Mad Thinker moved out of the way and jabbed the Captain with a knife up his sleeve. "You fool." He said. "Thinking is my stock and trade. Did you presume I wouldn't think to learn to be as proficient physically as I am mentally?"

* * *

The Awesome Android landed a solid hit on the Hulk's jaw. He went reeling, and the Android kept pounding him faster than he could respond.

Finally, Hulk grabbed one of the swinging fists. "Hulk Combo Break!" He yelled, pulling it back, and shoving his elbow into the Android's blank face.

"New levels of strength; assimilated." The Android threw another fist, and the Hulk leaped over it, landing behind the Android and swinging his fist back. The Android raised his hands to block it, but when the hit connected he went flying, tearing three cars in half as he flew through them down the street.

"New levels of strength; assimilated." The Android fired up Iron Man's repulsers, and zoomed towards the Hulk.

The Hulk picked up the front half of a yellow Volkswagen. "Punchbuggy! No punch backs!" The Android tried to course correct, but the Hulk brought down his fist down on him. A pair of wheels exploded from the wreckage.

"New levels of strength; assimilated." The Awesome Android grew out of the crater the Hulk had made, shrugging off the half of car. At fifty feet, it raised a giant foot and stomped the Hulk deep into the ground. Cars up and down the streets jumped into the air, and the shockwave shattered the windows in the vicinity.

"Subject, neutralized." The Android said.

Suddenly, the foot began to lift. The Android fought it, but it lifted anyway. The android grabbed two of the buildings and used them to help him push against his foot, but it was to not avail. Like Atlas hoisting the planet off his back, the Hulk lifted the Android's foot. The sole of the feet opened, revealing giant StarkTech repulsers, and the Android blast the Hulk.

All it did was make him mad.

With a final roar, the Hulk picked up the Android, spun him around, and smashed the fifty foot Android into what was left of Times Square.

"Error." The Android said, as its scanners watch the Hulk advance toward his head. "New strength levels; unable to assimilate. Strength levels off the scale. Cannot assimilate."

"Of course not, blockhead." The Hulk said with a smile. "Hulk is the strongest there is!" He tore of the Android's head, and tossed it into the bay.

* * *

"Hurry up, my shields won't hold for much longer!"

Iron Man had channeled his suit's power into creating a sphere of energy that protected the bridge. Unfortunately, the golden army was swarming the shield.

Meanwhile, the Black Panther and Thor were engaged in fighting Answer. He was forced to use his own force fields creatively, as each blow from Thor's hammer shattered any shield he put up, and the Black Panther kept dancing around them.

Suddenly, the Scarlet Witch shot him. The hex bolt blasted through his force field and hit his arm. The nanites in his arm boiled over, mutating it into a huge cancerous mass. Answer screamed in horror as his hand soon weighed more than him, and pinned itself to the floor, before exploding into steam.

The Answer lied on the floor, exhausted. He looked at his hand, no longer encased with metal. "Protocol: Z0." He said, in a metallic voice. "Teleportation. Sorry boss, I'm out." He vanished in a flash of light.

"It's over!" Captain America yelled at the Thinker.

"You cannot defeat me Captain." The Thinker said.

"I haven't lost a fight since 1944." Cap said. "I'm not losing one now."

"But you simply cannot win." The Mad Thinker protested smugly. "None of your hits are even landing. I can calculate what you are going to do before you even do it. All I have to do, is not be where your fists will be. And as we fight, your friends will not be able to stop my golden army!" He saw the unchanging expression on Captain America's face began to sweat. "You can't beat me! I am literally fighting twenty steps ahead of you!"

"I'm not one for chess." Captain America said. "I don't think twelve moves ahead, just one. But it's always the right one."

The Mad Thinker looked a little panicked. "I hold the mysteries of the future! I cannot be out maneuvered!" He yelled. "You cannot make a move that I cannot predict!"

"I already did." Cap said with a smirk. "Your mistake was trying to predict the future, when you should have tried predicting the past."

The Mad Thinker yelled, and lit up as he was zapped, then he slumped to the floor, Wasp hovering behind him.

"Good work miss Wasp." Cap said with an appreciative nod.

"It was your plan." She said.

The Thinker tried to get off the floor. Cap grabbed his hair and hoisted him up. "You can see as far into the future as you like." Cap said. "But as long as I'm around, America will stand." He slammed the Thinker face first into the floor, knocking him out cold.

"Ant-man, how are you doing with the device?"

"It's amazing!" Ant-man poked out of the control on the Thinker's belt. "It's designed off of the human brain, but they used my nanites not only to make it fit into such a small device, but to replicate it continually making it smarter…"

"That's great, really." Wasp said. "But how do we turn it off?"

"Oh, right." He flicked a couple of switches, and suddenly the Golden Army stopped attacking.

"What are you doing?" Quasimodo asked.

"I'm separating you're A.I. from your outsource." Ant-man said. "You can't control the Golden Army now."

The golden robots fell out of the sky, some falling all the way down to New York, others merely falling to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s bridge.

"And now that every innocent person is on solid land, it's time to shut you down." He grew up to his regular height. "Scarlet Witch! Head's up!" He tossed the device into the air, and she gave it a full blast, turning it into ash.

* * *

The Hulk strolled down Main Street among the golden army. He tapped on one of their foreheads. He grunted at the lack of response, and roared in its face.

Suddenly the gold retreated. He looked all across the street, and as far as the eye could see the Golden Army reverted back into their human forms.

The Hulk stared as the android in front of him became the president of the united states. He took one look at the Hulk, and ran screaming. "I just saved the world." He grunted. "No, you don't have to thank me, don't mention it."

* * *

S.H.I.E.L.D. took control of the situation from there. They scanned for nanites, but without Quasimodo to keep them programmed them they quickly dissolved. The President was restored, and he offered his condolences to the world for this tragedy, before ensuring that thanks to the valiant efforts of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the new team of superheroes called Avengers would make sure nothing like this would happen again.

The Avengers, meanwhile, were assembled on the roof tops of New York.

"So what do you guys think of the Mad Thinker's prophesy?" Wasp asked. "Eight heroes, joined together to beat super villains."

"There are an excess of super villains in the world today." Iron Man said. "Maybe we should form a team."

"I don't know." Ant-man said. "Frankly, I want to help people, but as a scientist not a hero."

"Then why did you get a costume?" Captain America asked.

"If you can call that a costume." Wasp said.

"Well, I couldn't just sit there and let him win." Ant man said. "I had the power to help, and I wasn't going to just sit there."

"I wise man once told me, that with great power comes great responsibility." Captain America said. "There will be more times like this Ant Man. More times when an evil will arise and you will have the power to help. The question is; will you be alone?"

"And what of them?" Thor asked, gesturing to Black Panther and the Scarlet Witch. "The Mad Thinker made no mention of them."

"Yeah, and we just trashed his scheme." Iron Man said. "I'm not about to trust that guy with being able to see the future. As far as I'm concerned, they're heroes. And they deserve to be with us."

"And what of you Hulk?" Thor asked. "Will you join us?"

The Hulk frowned. "Hulk works best on his own." He said. "You'd only slow Hulk down."

"Oh come on." Wasp said. "Nobody can be alone all the time."

Hulk grimaced. "Fine." He said.

"Well, now we're a team." Iron Man said.

"Now, we're Avengers." They stood triumphant, looking out over New York, watching the sun set. To most, a setting sun meant the end of a day. But there, then, to the Avengers, it looked like the beginning of a new day.

* * *

_(The following set of disjointed writing is an attempt at creating a commercial in written format; as such, some things may not be taken in the context they are in now;)_

**Next Episode of Avengers Unlimited:**

**Trial of the Hulk!**

"Welcome to Avenger's Mansion." Iron Man sad proudly, gesturing to the mansion in front of them.

A bright spotlight shone down on the Avengers in the middle of their mansion's courtyard. "Attention Avengers!" Ross yelled. "The Hulk is under arrest. Assist him, and you will be arrested too!"

"Why are you doing this?" Captain America asked Ross in a darkened corridor. "Why are you so determined to bring the Hulk to ruin?"

A skinny green man with an oversized head wearing a prison jumpsuit walked into the courtroom. "Attorney for the prosecution: Samuel Sterns."

"I have a plan to get rid of the Hulk once and for all." Bolivar Trask whispered into Ross' ear.

"We need to give them the old razzle dazzle." Iron Man said.

"This time!" Ross roared. "THIS TIME, THE HULK WILL DIE!"


End file.
